Writing about a places you have never visited

[Monet_va]

The best way to write about a city you've never been to is by reading about it in other books! Watch movies about it, youtube videos, history channels and do as much research as possible.

[clint_csperry-org]

Interesting question. As a Fantasy writer, I create new worlds for my stories, so I am always writing about places I have never been. On the other hand the place in my head that I am trying to put on paper seems as real to me as my home town. It is difficult sometimes, especially if I put a piece down for a while to get the clear visualization back when I try to continue the quest I was working on. I keep what I call a story bible that lists important features, characters, places, rules of magic or cultural norms that are outside of what most would consider normal. That helps me to keep things consistent.

[emidio125]

Normally, in this situations I usually search about the place. I look for every information I may need about this specific place. Therefore, if you're writing a fiction or future related work, I believe you normally shape the places in your mind beforehand.

[FrostBytez]

There is no problem with having self-made information in a sci-fi book, but if you want the reader to really believe your book, then it's best to research about the city.

[EReid]

I use Google Earth/Maps a lot when I'm writing about a certain city/place, but I try not to get too hung up on it. I figure I can take some creative license and very few people will even know, much less be bothered by whatever small details I may have missed.

[Casey Kowalewsky]

I like using an imaginary place within a real place. So for example, a made up neighborhood set within a real city. As long as most of your story is taking place in the imaginary, you'll only need minimum factual info about the real place that you can easily find online.